It has always been something of a mystery why this most quintessentially English of cities should have given rise to so many great Americana bands.

Chief among them are The Dreaming Spires – the vehicle for brothers Robin and Joe Bennett – who blend their widescreen new country-rock with a relentlessly optimistic West Coast stoner pop vibe, soul and classic rock.

And it’s good. So good, indeed, that they were invited to play the recent Americana Fest in Nashville.

That led to a clutch of nominations in the inaugural UK Americana Awards.

They warmed-up for the night, in London's trendy East End, with a hometown show, featuring a mix of the anthemic country pop of their debut Brothers in Brooklyn and their multi-faceted follow-up Searching for The Supertruth – standout track Still Believe in You opening the set, followed by the ear-worm frenzy of Everything all the Time.

It’s all impossibly upbeat and we are drawn in, joining the rousing choruses and clapping along – particularly to their anthemic Dusty in Memphis – which Robin delights in telling us, he has just recorded in Memphis. 
There’s also a song about Oxford, Harberton Mead. “Only been there once,” Robin tells us. “The houses are very expensive!”

Still, it sounds suitably bucolic, even if we know the truth.

Something has happened to The Dreaming Spires. While they were always good, they seem to have, well.. got better. Robin has real charisma, partly as a result of his endearing shyness, while the whole band, Joe on guitar and Scott Kenny on drums and Tom Collison on keys, have upped their game and seriously gel.

This was banged home with a scorching finale in which they paid tribute to two departed legends The Eagles' Glenn Frey – a swaggering Desperado, rolling into a rousing sing-along to Take it Easy and Easy Rider – then David Bowie’s Space Oddity – a note-perfect faithful reproduction, perfectly executed with full inter-stellar effects. Lesser bands would have floundered, but this was mindblowingly good. Oustanding even - so much so that even after the show, people were talking about it in general awe.

They finished with one of their own glories, the lovely album title track Searching for the Supertruth, and it was all over way too soon.

What a show. What a band!